Postgraduate Module Descriptor

POLM227M: Behavioural Public Policy and Administration

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The main objective of the module is to provide you with a critical understanding of how research and theoretical insights from the fields of behavioural economics and social psychology are being used to develop policy innovations in the contemporary era. The module discusses the idea of ‘boundedly rational’ decision-making and the implications of this for governments seeking to develop policy tools or shape the ‘choice architecture’ to influence citizens, or indeed bureaucrats. The module will use up-to-date case studies of behavioural public policies that are being applied by contemporary governments in OECD countries, and we will discuss the applicability of these approaches in different international contexts. While the course has practical policy relevance, you will be encouraged to take a critical, questioning approach and the course will also cover ethical and legitimacy questions surrounding behavioural public policy.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how behavioural economic and social psychological insights are being used by government to secure policy outcomes
2. Demonstrate awareness of key heuristics employed in human decision-making
3. Articulate a range of theoretical perspectives concerning the role of the State in influencing citizen behaviour
Discipline-Specific Skills4. Effectively synthesise and extract arguments from academic literature
5. Critique a range of academic theories and perspectives
6. Appraise the strengths & weaknesses of different research methodologies
Personal and Key Skills7. Present arguments and distil evidence in a cogent way to a non-specialist audience
8. Apply theory and research findings from a variety of disciplinary perspectives to real world policy dilemmas

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Cohen, I.G., Fernandez Lynch, H. & Ronertson, C.T. (Eds). 2016.  Nudging Health: Health Law and Behavioural Economics.Johns Hopkins University Press.

Galizzi, Matteo M. 2014. “What is really behavioral in behavioral health policy?  And does it work?”  Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 36(1): 25-60.

Grimmelikhuijsen, S., Jilke, S., Olsen, A.L. & Tummers, L. 2016. ‘Behavioral Public Administration’, Public Administration Review.

James, S. 2012. “The contribution of behavioral economics to tax reform in the United Kingdom”, Journal of Socio-Economics, 41: 468-475.

John, P. 2016. ‘Behavioural Approaches: How Nudges Lead to more Intelligent Policy Design’, in Philippe Zittoun and B. Guy Peters. (Eds). Contemporary Approaches to Public Policy, Palgrave Macmillan.

 John, P. et al. 2011.  Nudge, Nudge, Think,Think: Experimenting with Ways to Change Civic Behaviour. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

 Kahneman, D. 2013.  Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

 Low, D. (Ed). 2011.  Behavioural Economics and Policy Design: Examples from Singapore.  Civil Service College Singapore/ World Scientific.

 Ly, K. & Soman, D. 2013.  Nudging Around the World. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

OECD. 2017.  Behavioural Insights and Public Policy: Lessons from Around the World.  OECD. Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264270480-en. Read online:

http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/governance/behavioural-insights-and-public-policy_9789264270480-en#.WQH1Uz-GOUk

Oliver, A. 2017.  The origins of behavioural public policy.  Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Oliver, A. 2013. Ed.  Behavioural Public Policy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Oliver, Adam. 2013. “From Nudging to Budging: Using Behavioural Economics to Inform Public Sector Policy”, Journal of Social Policy, 42(4): 685-700.

Shafir, E (Ed). 2012.  The Behavioural Foundations of Public Policy. Princetown University Press.

Sunstein, C. 2016.  The Ethics of Influence: Government in the Age of Behavioral Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sunstein, C. Forthcoming. ‘Do People Like Nudges?, Administrative Law Review  , Forthcoming. Draft Working Paper Available at  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2604084

Sunstein, C. 2015.  Why Nudge? The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism. Yale University Press.

Thaler, R. and C. Sunstein. 2008.  Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New Haven, Yale University Press.